Black and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I always get funny looks when I talk about chocolate with other people. Everyone, obviously, has their favorite brand of chocolate. Ranging from the well known Godiva, Lindt, and if you're REALLY a chocolate connoisseur, Vosges is probably up your lane of choices as well. Not to say that any of these chocolates are bad. I like all of them, to be honest. Some more than others (I personally dislike anything from Lindt unless its their truffles). Either way, every foodie who enjoys the wonderful taste of chocolatey goodness usually has a favorite brand.

So when I tell people what my favorite chocolate ever is, they usually look at me and go, "Really?" as if they expected me to come up with some exotic chocolate from belgium that costs more than all my baking utensils put together.

But i'll be honest with you. My favorite chocolate is neither Godiva, nor Ghirardeli, nor any other special kind of chocolate from any country outside the US...

My favorite chocolate ever in the world is Hershey's Hugs Kisses.



Yes, that's right. Hershey's. Of all the chocolate I could pick from, I pick one that comes from Hershey's.

Call me crazy. Call me insane. It's okay, I won't mind. But I will do backflips for a bag of Hugs. It might be because everytime I've had them it's always been a special thing. Like sharing a bag with my sister while watching her play Zelda when I was a little kid, or the fact that my mom would always put a bag of them in my stocking for Christmas and in my Easter basket, or the fact that they are somehow ten times more stupendous when you eat them with someone you love. I don't know what it is about them. But biting into a hershey hug right out of the freezer, breaking open the white chocolate and milk chocolate swirly shell around it and then letting the pure milk chocolate center melt in your mouth -- Good Lord. I'm about ready to go to the store right now to get some. They are seriously that good, and I am not ashamed to say that I could munch on a bag mindlessly all day if given a chance (the boyfriend as my witness!).

So you can only imagine my reaction when I saw a bag of mini chocolate and white chocolate swirled morsels on the baking shelf of my local grocery store. Yeah. You bet I grabbed one. And ever since, it has been waiitng patiently in my freezer, waiting to be used.

While the mini chocolate morsels in themselves don't taste much like Hugs (unfortunately), they still get the job done. I've been waiting to come across the perfect recipe to incorporate them in and I honestly think that this might be it. Unlike your typical chocolate chip cookie, these are made with cake flour, a dash of Kahlua (a coffee liquor), and egg substitute. Lending for a much more healthier cookie in general that doesn't sacrifice or skimp on taste. The toasted pecans definitely lend a wonderful contrast, though I didn't use many of them because I like to have more chocolate in my cookies than I do nuts ;).



I won't lie, these are addictive. Though I didn't have Kahlua on hand, I replaced it with some brewed Espresso and I think that they came out just as good as they would if I had used Kahlua. These cookies are absolutely awesome and though they are originally meant for a blend of white chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips, I'm pretty sure that using the swirled kind lends its own flavor that lets you enjoy both at once instead of separately -- and I like it better that way.

If you don't happen to find the swirled morsels in your grocery, feel free to use a mix of white chocolate chips and semi-sweet ones. But if you do find them, I gotta say: use them! Do it. You won't regret it. I absolutely pinky promise you.


Black and White Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Cooking Light)

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups cake flour (about 8 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons egg substitute (OR 2 tablespoon egg whites)
1 1/2 tablespoons Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur) OR 1 1/2 tablespoons brewed espresso
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate/semi sweet chocolate swirled morsels OR
6 tablespoons semisweet chocolate minichips
1/3 cup premium white chocolate chips

2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans, toasted (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; stir with a whisk.

3. Combine sugars, butter, and shortening in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4. Combine 1/4 cup water, egg substitute, Kahlúa, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add Kahlúa mixture to sugar mixture; beat 2 minutes or until well blended.

5. Gradually add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.

6. Fold in all your chocolate chips (whether you used the swirled or individual kind) and pecans. Drop by level tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

7. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, at 350° for 14 minutes or just until set and beginning to brown around edges and on bottoms.

8. Remove from oven; cool on pan 1 minute. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire racks.

Makes about 40 cookies.

Linzer Sablés with Nutella

Well. It's official. Florida has made it quite clear that it wants nothing to do with Christmas this year, as is evident by our 78 degree weather. I could blame it all on that global warming yap, but I honestly think that Florida just isn't in the mood to celebrate. That, and this state has some serious PMSing issues. But don't tell her I said that (or him... I am, afterall, entirely convinced that men endure a monthly PMS as well).

Seriously. It's hard to get into the yuletide cheer when you can practically bake your holiday cookies ontop of your car because of the weather outside. Whatta bummer.

Regardless, though, you'll still see snowflakes hanging from tree's in peoples front yard and lots of interesting decorations (I personally love one of the houses in my neighborhood whom has a little squad of penguins huddled together in front of a fire on their lawn). We may not be gettin' chilly weather our way anytime soon, and the air conditioner may just be on high for Christmas Day... but people are still determined to keep the spirit alive, and I think that that's awesome.

Despite the wavering heat that's been washing over our little town, I still find it hard to stay away from the oven and baking cookies even if I go through five ice cold water bottles while I do it. It may not look like Christmas outside... but it'll smell like Christmas inside. And honestly, how can you not think about cute little chubby santa clauses munching down on a plateful of goodies when you have gingerbread bars and these Linzer cookies goin' down in your kitchen?



That's what I thought.

You can keep thinking about those chubby little santa clauses too.

I won't judge you.

Linzer cookies are incredibly easy to make, and while they are typically filled with jam (raspberry does wonders with the almond taste), I decided to slasher on some Nutella for mine, and the taste of chocolate/hazelnut combo with the almondy butter cookie was just what Santa ordered... though he may need to spend some more time on the treadmill for it ;). I rolled mine a bit thinner than required but it gave the cookies a nice snap to them so I didn't mind. Make sure you watch these, as they can burn very easily in the oven if left in just a moment too long. It's well worth the extra time spent. As always, Dorie Greenspan knocks my socks off with another cookie recipe. Here's to hoping I get my own copy of her book for Christmas!

Linzer Sablés with Nutella
(Adapted from Dorie Greenspan From My Home To Yours)

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg
2 teaspoons water
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup nutella or other filling (such as raspberry jam or other)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk together the ground nuts, flour, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Using a fork, stir the egg and water together in a small bowl.

2.Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the egg mixture and beat for 1 minute more. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Don't work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. If the dough comes together but some dry crumbs remain in the bottom of the bowl, stop the mixer and finish blending the ingredients with a rubber spatula or your hands.

3. Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, put the dough between two large sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. Using your hands, flatten the dough into a disk, then grab a rolling pin and roll out the dough, turning it over frequently so that the paper doesn't cut into it, until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

4. Leave the dough in the paper and repeat with the second piece of dough. Transfer the wrapped dough to a baking sheet or cutting board (to keep it flat) and refrigerate or freeze it until it is very firm, about 2 hours in the refrigerator or about 45 minutes in the freezer. The rolled-out dough can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Just thaw the dough enough to cut out the cookies and go on from there.

5. enter a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

6. Peel off the top sheet of wax paper from one piece of dough and, using a 2-inch round cookie cutter-a scalloped cutter is nice for these-cut out as many cookies as you can. If you want to have a peekaboo cutout, use the end of a piping tip to cut out a very small circle from the centers of half the cookies. Transfer the rounds to the baking sheets, leaving a little space between the cookies. Set the scraps aside-you can combine them with the scraps from the second disk and roll and cut more cookies.

7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden, dry and just firm to the touch. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to room temperature.

8. Repeat with the second disk of dough, making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches. Gather the scraps of dough together, press them into a disk, roll them between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, then cut and bake.

9. When cookies are cooled, drop a heaping teaspoon of nutella onto one side (preferably the side without the hole in it) and spread with an offset spatula or the back of the spoon until cookie has a thin spread covering it. Sandwich with another cookie (the one with the hole, if you made them with holes) and dust with Confectioner's sugar if desired. Enjoy!

Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Reader, I know.

This is difficult.

This is hard.

This is not easy to do, and I understand.

That penguin cookie jar is seriously too cute for your mind to control. I know. I feel your pain.

Oh. And cookies. Those don't help either.

I'm not too big of a fan of chocolate chip cookies. This could be because mine always burn or turn out flat. Yeah, that whole nestle tollhouse recipe everyone raves about? Seems that no matter what I do, I get burned chocolate chip pancakes instead of sturdy cookies. It sucks. It really does.

I have yet to come across a chocolate chip cookie recipe that has successfully given me my kinda chocolate chip cookie -- crisp, slightly crumbly, not too chocolate and melt-in-your-mouth when dipped in cold milk. Those are my kinda chocolate chip cookies. I guess you could say even after all the chocolate chip cookies I've tried, I'm still a chips ahoy! girl at heart ;).

Still, it's hard to really care when you don't get a chocolate chip cookie recipe right. There are so many others out there, the possibilities are endless, and even if you get it wrong there are still some desperate relatives (or very hungry mice, apparently; but that's a story for another day) who will eat it despite it's flaws and enjoy it thoroughly. That's kind of what happen

ed with these cookies.

Their perfectly soft -- cakey and delicious with just the right amount of chocolate chips in each little ball. I could've make them tinier, to be honest. And it would have probably helped to put them in the fridge for a little while after dropping them on the cookie sheets so they wouldn't have spread and burned on the bottom. But that's alright. They still came out good and, surprisingly, keep very moist and still cakey after a week of being in an airtight container. Good deal.

So if you're the cakey chocolate chip cookie type, definitely whip some of these up. Or if you know someone who likes cakey chocolate chip cookies, give it as a gift! After all, it is the season of giving. And I promise they won't mind if you have slightly burned bottoms. Promise.

(And no, I am not the least bit disturbed by the fact that you have to remove the penguins head to get the cookies. I just see it as if he's got cookies on his mind -- haha, get it? yeahh. I'm good.)

Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

(recipe by Martha Stewart)

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (about 12oz) semi-sweet and/or milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda; set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute.

4. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Turn out dough into plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour if desired.

5. When ready to bake cookies, drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges and slightly set in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to wire wrack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.